Mon. Mar 30th, 2020

Grace

Netflix is currently down for many users around the world – TechCrunch

By Grace 5 days ago

Netflix is currently experiencing outages around the world, but affecting mostly users in the United States and Europe. According to Down Detector, users began reporting issues around 12PM Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, and many people are still unable to connect to the streaming service on different platforms, including mobile, PCs and smart TVs.

Many people around the world are relying on Netflix for entertainment while under lockdown or quarantine measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Both Netflix’s status and help pages have notes saying “We are currently experiencing a higher than normal wait time for support via phone and chat. Please try again later or check our online help center for answers to frequently asked questions. Thank you for your patience.” It is also fielding issues through its customer support Twitter account.

On March 21, Netflix said that in response to the European Union’s request for

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Working from home: 6 lessons learned that can help leaders in the long run

By Grace 5 days ago

While you’re telecommuting due to the COVID-19 outbreak, be aware of what you’re learning about various tools and techniques that will also be helpful when work returns to normal.

I had always considered myself a capable remote worker. After all, I don’t really have a permanent office anywhere other than my home setup, and I have been productive everywhere from airplane seats, to corners of client warehouses, to the two workstations I have set up at home. 

Despite solving the “remote” aspect of my work, I did not realize that most weeks involved dozens or even hundreds of in-person interactions. Reducing those interactions due to the coronavirus, and also having the other four members of my family omnipresent in my home office, has created an entirely new dynamic.

SEE: Coronavirus: Critical IT policies and tools every business needs (TechRepublic Premium)

During challenging situations, we often are so focused on

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How automation is speeding delivery of COVID-19 results to hospitals

By Grace 5 days ago

Kryon, a robotics process automation provider, helped upload COVID-19 test results from the Israeli Ministry of Health to Maccabi, one of Israel’s biggest healthcare providers, in 48 hours.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is flooding hospitals with new cases––here’s a useful map of when hospitals will hit their limits––many healthcare providers are struggling to ensure that they have up-to-date information on patients who must be treated for the virus. One of the obstacles is the lag time between getting information on those who are infected with COVID-19 into the computer systems.

Automation is coming to the rescue. On Friday, Kryon, a robotics process automation (RPA) provider, helped one of Israel’s largest healthcare providers, Maccabi, install a system in place to automate downloads of COVID-19 test results––straight from the Israeli Ministry of Health into the healthcare system. The previous system, in which dense, data-heavy Excel files were sent to Maccabi two

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Hackers target World Health Organization in attempt to steal passwords

By Grace 6 days ago

Hacking attempts against the health organization and its partners have jumped as they struggle to battle the coronavirus.

A hacking group hit the World Health Organization earlier this month to try to steal passwords from agency staffers, Reuters reported on Tuesday. The attempt was but one of many as the organization contends with a surge in cyberattacks even as it fights to contain the coronavirus.

SEE: Special report: A winning strategy for cybersecurity (free PDF) (TechRepublic) 

WHO Chief Information Security Officer Flavio Aggio told Reuters that the effort was unsuccessful and that the identity of the hackers was unknown. The attempted hacking was reported to Reuters by Alexander Urbelis, a cybersecurity expert and attorney with Blackstone Law Group, which tracks suspicious internet domain registration activity. Urbelis said he discovered the activity around March 13 when a hacking group that he’d been following turned on a malicious site impersonating the

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Fox Sports to broadcast the full season of NASCAR’s virtual race series – TechCrunch

By Grace 6 days ago

Esports racing, helped by record-setting viewership, is hitting the big time.

Fox Sports said Tuesday it will broadcast the rest of the eNASCAR Pro Invitational iRacing Series, following Sunday’s virtual race that was watched by 903,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

While those numbers are far below the millions of viewers who watch NASCAR’s official races — the last one at Phoenix Raceway reached 4.6 million — it still hit a number of firsts that Fox Sports found notable enough to commit to broadcasting the virtual racing series for the remainder of the season, beginning March 29.

The races will be simulcast on the FOX broadcast network, Fox Sports iRacing and the FOX Sports app. Races will be available in Canada through FOX Sports Racing.

Virtual racing, which lets competitors race using a system that includes a computer, steering wheel and pedals, has been around for years. But it’s

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Former Slack exec April Underwood has joined Obvious Ventures as a venture partner – TechCrunch

By Grace 7 days ago

April Underwood, who until early last year was Slack’s chief product officer, has joined Obvious Ventures as a venture partner, she announced on Twitter today.

Underwood said that as part of the firm’s team, she will “invest in great companies seeking to solve the big problems facing humanity: our climate, human health and wellness, and how we work.” Of Obvious’s focus on “backing company with world positive impact,” she said its mission “couldn’t possibly feel more needed than it does in this particular moment.”

For Underwood, the role is one of several that she is currently juggling. She founded a startup advisory outfit called Wise Owl last year. She is also a cofounder of #Angels, an organization that focuses on investing in female founders and to which Underwood remains very committed, she said today, tweeting that her focus on “getting more women on the cap tables of successful startups will

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